


We Wear the Mask that Grins andLies

by Deans___Beautiful___fallen_angel



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cinderella (2015) AU, Costume Parties & Masquerades, F/M, M/M, Merthur - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26541484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deans___Beautiful___fallen_angel/pseuds/Deans___Beautiful___fallen_angel
Summary: Cinderella AU based off of Disney's live action Cinderella. Uther decides to throw a ball to find Arthur a princess to marry, though a spontaneous meeting with a shy yet clever young man in the forest may ruin Uther's plans.Title from Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask"
Relationships: Leon/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	We Wear the Mask that Grins andLies

His youth had been full of love and wonder and magic. His parents had raised him on a small farm in the countryside. The cottage was built of solid granite and limestone, giving the exterior a reddish-brown hue that simultaneously managed to stand out and blend in with the countryside. It was a decent size, with two stories to the main house and a tower off the right side of the house which contained the kitchens and the stairway to the attic. Merlin remembers spending much of his time in the tower, assisting the cook with the making of the meals, as his mother had insisted. There was a stable off to the right side of the property where he remembered his father had taught him to tend to the work horses they’d stabled there and giving him a brief riding lesson while his mother tended to the garden out the back of the house. 

He’d been very happy then, living with mother and father and learning to control his magic and tending to the animals. It had been very wonderful childhood, until his mother had taken seriously ill. Merlin had spent her last few weeks sitting next to her in bed and reading to her. In her final goodbye, she’d told Merlin that he was too always remember that he was special and that his magic would mean nothing if used for selfish means. She’d told him to be kind and cherish all living things as he would like to be treated himself. 

She passed away a few hours later. 

His father hadn’t been the same after that. He had withdrawn into himself more and had taken to traveling more. Though he was a merchant, he’d made an effort to shorten his trips and remain at home as much as possible. After the death of his mother, his father no longer seemed to enjoy life as much as he’d had before, and Merlin was left on the farm to tend to the animals and garden, and to wonder whether life would ever be the same again. 

Three years later, his father had come to him, reluctant and uncertain, and told him that he’d decided to remarry—a woman he’d met a few towns over, whose husband had been an associate and who had recently died. He’d told Merlin that she and her two daughter would be coming to live with them. Merlin had only asked if this was going to make his father happy. His father had gifted him a small, yet grateful, smile and had said yes. 

Lady Helen and her daughters, Sophia and Kara, arrived by carriage one month later, the day of Merlin’s sixteenth birthday. 

It had all gone well, though Merlin could tell that his step-siblings and step-mother had a certain distaste of him that they made plain whenever his father was away. Merlin had done his best to be welcoming, treating them with kindness as his mother had told him to. It wasn’t always easy, and many times Merlin had to sneak off into the forest to release his frustration through magic, but it was bearable. His father was still alive, and he brought gifts along whenever he come back from a trip. It was all well and good. Until it wasn’t.

Balinor had left on a trip to France with a promise to Merlin he’d be back in one month, so when the sound of a carriage and knock on their door came two weeks early, Merlin knew something was wrong. It was the coachman telling him that Balinor had taken ill on his journey and had passed away within hours of anyone knowing he was ill. The coachman continued on, placing a small carved dragon into his hand, and sharing his condolences. The coachman turned away, unaware these words would change Merlin’s life forever.


End file.
